Pumpkins

Emily has had a big Friday and Saturday. Yesterday morning she had to go in for labs. They expect that she will need a transfusion sometime soon, so they are doing labs frequently and scheduling day hospital beds for transfusions just in case she needs them. This time she was just on the border and didn't get a transfusion. Her ANC had dropped all the way from 1800 to 500, and her hemoglobin was pretty low, so we are all expecting that on Monday she will be transfused, though Emily has surprised us before. The medications she has been taking the last two weeks are supposed to get her levels really low so this is all expected. She didn't make school on Friday, but she has been going a lot. She did an entire day on Thursday.

On Friday night, Emily and Tracy went to a Girl Scout event in south San Jose. Emily went on a hayride and sang songs, roasted marshmallows, did some crafts, a petting zoo, a sack race, played tug-o-war, and had a picnic dinner. They had a good time but it was really chilly with the cold winds blowing. They didn't get home until 8:30.

Today we went on a big adventure to the coast to Half Moon Bay to get some pumpkins. We drove over on Highway 84 and stopped in the San Gregorio store to pick up some drinks to go along with the picnic we packed. Then we stopped at San Gregorio State Beach to eat our lunch. It was a super clear day with a chilly wind blowing. It made the surf extra big. Haley had never been to the beach since she has been up walking and talking so that part was fun too. She was really fascinated with the sand. We ate our sandwiches in the car which is on a bluff overlooking the beach and surf. Great spot. We walked to the edge of the bluff and then down onto the beach. We only stayed about 15 minutes since the beach wasn't really in the plans for the day. I was freezing cold and we were unprepared for that. It did make for a perfect place for lunch, though. From there we traveled north on Highway 1 towards Half Moon Bay. We stopped at a place called Arata Ranch. They have their pumpkins interspersed throughout their corn fields. They also have a petting zoo, pony rides, produce, and a very large hay labyrinth which Emily and I conquered. It took us at least 30 minutes if not more to find our way through. They have hay bales stacked up around 12 feet high making a really large and fairly challenging labyrinth. It was a lot of fun. From there we left and drove home over Highway 92 in Half Moon Bay over to 280 South. When we got to 280 and 92 we called Jake's Pizza in Saratoga and had them start a pizza for us, since we knew we would be there in 20 minutes. It was perfect: We arrived just as our pizza was coming out of the oven. With the kids so tired it was nice to have the food ready to cut the waiting time, especially with Haley.

Tonight Emily had her last dose of Cytarabine in her IV and we de-accessed her port. She is still taking her 6TG pill until Wednesday. As I mentioned before, Monday is labs and a probable transfusion. Her next big chemo is November 5th for her first maintenance chemo.